There were just five stops when the North-South Line was first introduced in 1987, running from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh.

Up until a year before that, Mr Yeo, then 29 and employed by the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (later renamed as SMRT) as a railway master, had no idea what the trains would even look like.

Training, which took one and a half years, was a mix of theory and imagination. “We were trained on all the technicalities, but we’d never actually seen the train before,” he recalls.

Mr Yeo had swapped a steady job as a chief draftsman at an architecture firm for a leap into uncharted waters.

Was he worried about job stability?

“No, it was a new industry; a sunrise industry,” he says. His sons were young at the time, aged three and one, and he made the decision with the support of his wife, a homemaker. “I wanted to keep learning new technologies.”

And learn he did. Over the years, he played pivotal roles in SMRT projects, from working with contractors and engineers on the driverless trains in the Circle Line to his current job as head of the Thomson-East Coast Line project team.

“What kept me going all these years is (being able) to transfer my knowledge to new people,” says Mr Yeo. He wanted to help others grow, and benefit from the opportunities that SMRT had provided him.

It left a mark on Ms Shariffah Faizah, 47. Almost 20 years Mr Yeo’s junior, she recalls being trained by him on safety protocols and the ins and outs of a driverless system when she first joined rail operator SMRT’s Circle Line. 

This was before the actual training she would undergo with the contractor engaged by the regulator, Land Transport Authority (LTA) to design and build the train.

The infrastructure, such as the trains and stations, is owned by LTA.

The two-month induction course by Mr Yeo helped her and her colleagues start on a better footing, she says.

Mr Yeo and Ms Shariffah spoke to The Straits Times at underground train depot Kim Chuan Depot, home to the operations control centres of the North-South Line, East-West Line and Circle Line. 

It is where Ms Shariffah earned her stripes as a train service controller of the Circle Line. Mr Yeo recalls how she later became a master trainer, passing on her expertise to newcomers in the industry

“Mentors have really opened up a path for me to explore more in terms of what I can do,” she says, reflecting on her 26-year career. She has been working at SMRT since she graduated with a diploma in engineering in 1999.

Not all transformative moments in transport are about infrastructure.

Some happen in everyday situations, like the call that came from Tanjong Pagar station last December. 

It was the morning rush hour, and trains were running at a two-minute interval. A passenger was unwell on the train, but they lacked the manpower to carry her out.

Help was urgently needed.

Assistant station manager Vinitha Chandrasegaran (above in red) and her two teammates didn’t know what to expect as they waited at the Raffles Place MRT station platform. When they finally saw the passenger, they suspected that she had suffered a stroke.

“We could see that her entire left side wasn’t responding, and she was having difficulty talking,” she says.

They sprang into action, carrying her off the train on a wheelchair and keeping her calm until paramedics arrived. Ms Chandrasegaran, 30, also updated the woman’s husband over the phone.

Two days later, the passenger’s teenage daughter arrived at the station with her father and a handmade thank-you card.

“They didn’t need to do that,” she says. “The husband said that even though we didn’t provide her with medical attention, we provided the support to make that happen.

“It really moved me.”

The card now sits in the passenger service room at the station – a reminder of the connections forged in her eight years on the job.

No two days are the same on the frontline, she shares. Situations like helping a lost child, a passenger with dementia or even medical emergencies could happen any day, especially when the MRT and LRT system is dealing with an estimated 3.4 million commuters each day.

Training for such moments is rigorous. The 13-strong team undergoes annual training every year, monthly scenario-based sessions and refresher quizzes to ensure readiness. 

For Ms Chandrasegaran, empathy is key. “If I can help someone and make just 20 per cent of their day better, then I consider myself to have done my job,” she says.

Just a few MRT stops away, a different kind of community spirit is taking shape.

About three to four times a week, retirees Mrs Donna Lai, 65, and Mr KT Lai, 70, pick up their table tennis bats and head out for a game. 

“We picked up table tennis because it’s good on the knees,” says Mr Lai, who has been playing table tennis for the past three years. “I lost 3kg since I started playing last year,” says his wife.

They used to play at the community centre, but it was always crowded. Their newest ping pong spot? Esplanade MRT, about three MRT stops from where they stay.

They found out about the table through a friend, who saw it while travelling. “We were delighted,” says Mrs Lai. “Having the table tennis table at an MRT station makes it more accessible to everyone, because a lot of us commute by train,” she adds. 

“But we couldn’t imagine why, out of the blue, there’s a table tennis table within the station.”

So why exactly is there a ping pong table in an MRT station? 

“It’s a question we get asked a lot,” laughs Ms Lillian Lee, 49, senior manager, Education and Outreach, SMRT.

The rationale is straightforward: SMRT operates 132 MRT and LRT stations across four MRT lines and Bukit Panjang LRT. Why not transform these stations into community spaces?

“We have so many stations; we are just there in your neighbourhood,” she says. “So what else can we do to make them more vibrant?”

Her team spearheads efforts like public pianos, busking spaces, and even Zumba sessions to bring life to stations.

The ping pong table has been popular, says Ms Lee. Slots have been filling up quickly, with over 1,000 bookings since it was launched last September.

The table is open to the public from 10am to 9pm and can be booked for free online. People just need to bring their table tennis bats and balls.

To make these community initiatives work, collaboration is crucial, Ms Lee says. This includes working with LTA, and with partners like the Singapore Table Tennis Association and Sport Singapore.

Another ongoing initiative is a partnership with the National Arts Council and non-profit organisation ART:DIS, to bring music to stations through performances by buskers with disabilities.

“It is a safe space,” she says, “and our station staff are always there if (the buskers) need help.”

How stations are evolving

Beyond just being mere transit points, MRT stations are evolving into spaces for innovation, wellness and community engagement. Here are some other initiatives that aim to help you…